“Gay Cure” Therapy Up for Vote in Calif.

Pruden pointed to an example of a child molested by an adult of the same-sex.

“Now this bill is saying that for a therapist to suggest to someone that they're not gay is somehow illegal or would be wrong," he said.

Authors of the bill were very careful in determining the bill’s terminology as to not restrict help to minors who may simply want to turn to a therapist as they explore their sexuality.

"Quite naturally there are many times when an adolescent is exploring their sexual identity and they may want to talk to a therapist about that," said Jo Linder-Crow, the executive director of the California Psychological Association. "We wanted to make sure that legitimate therapy would not be caught up in the definition used in the bill."

In America’s early years, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and sodomy was punishable with jail time. After World War II, therapy became the most common practice in comparison to institutionalization or jail. In the 1970’s, the American Psychology Association removed homosexuality from the list of mental illness and the therapy practices were abandoned. But, they were later adopted by Christian organizations such as Exodus International.

"People have had these concerns about it for a long time," said Clinton Anderson, the director of the American Psychological Association's office for LGBT issues. "What may be different is a sense that there's a political will, at least in certain places, to do something more significant about it."

Guay spent a year with his ex-gay therapist and became involved in a relationship with a woman. But, it did not work out.

"I ended that relationship and began a relationship with a man," Guay said.